


Priceless

by comfy_louis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1d, Abuse, Adorable, Bakery, Cute, Drugs, Fear, Fluff, Gay, Help, Home, Homeless Louis, Love, M/M, No Smut, Not Famous, Sold, Trust, Trust Issues, abused, afraid, aw, give me idea, hardly, hardly trusting, hero - Freeform, homeless, i need prompt, larry - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform, one direction - Freeform, present, priceless, saved - Freeform, scared, sell, stylinson, take him home
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-01-15 19:32:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1316656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comfy_louis/pseuds/comfy_louis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is a homeless kid, who lives on the street at the age 22. Usually beaten, he sits on the corner that’s next to a bakery. And that’s where the twenty-year-old Harry works.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Harry passes Louis every single day when he goes home. The bruised kid is lying on the ground, sometimes curled in a tiny ball while shaking or sometimes he’s completely passed out.

It’s autumn, almost the cold winter. Harry is closer and closer to kneeling down to the older lad and helping him.  
‘But he’s a homeless person, I don’t know him, he could be a drug dealer’ Harry always tells himself, trying not to even look at him anymore.

But just then he realizes he’s been doing something horrible. He’s been exactly like others. He was looking at him like some kind of a trash, like he isn’t human, even like he’s a thief. But the truth is, this boy is completely harmless.

He’s always in the same spot, he always dressed the same, and the only thing that changes is the amount of bruises. He has more of them every morning when Harry goes to work and every afternoon Harry when walks back home.

But Louis doesn’t get in fights; he’s way too weak to even stand up. Wherever he goes, a gang will find fun in him. Rape happens too but he can't help himself, specially not on his own.

Harry thinks the boy on the ground never notices him, but he’s deadly wrong. He does, of course only when he’s conscious and not knocked out. Louis really likes how his curls pop up and down when he walks past him. Or his shining green eyes that never look at him. The older boy understands, he’s just the garbage on the street that nobody likes; nobody cares about, the garbage some people just kick and step on.

Today it’s quite cold, and it’s pouring rain. The curly lad is wearing a coat and a sweater under it, while Louis is still in his torn up tee and in really old oversized jeans. He still doesn’t move from his spot, he lets the rain drops fall on his tiny body, soaking him.

As Harry walks past him and he knows there’s no way he’s going to leave him there . Louis is conscious, but hardly. 

A disgusting drunk guy had fun with him just a little bit over two hours ago. His muscles are giving up, just like his brain is. But his heart wants to see the green eyes, because just maybe that would make him feel better.

Maybe it would give him some straight not to die. Although he doesn’t remember the last time he ate, neither the last time he had a sip of clean water.

Louis spots Harry, he’s holding an umbrella and he’s dressed up warmly. Why couldn’t he have this? A home, warm clothes and a job. He doesn’t want anyone to support him, he wants to be completely independent. He just wants to stand up, get a job and a life. But he doesn’t have a single penny, so he couldn’t even make himself presentable. Like this, dirty and torn no one would give him a job. He's a complete mess.

So without job, he couldn’t get a home. Without a home, he couldn’t get a job. It is just as simple as that.

This time, he expects Harry to go past him without even glancing at him. But he doesn’t. Today is different. Today Harry will make a change in his and Louis’ life.

He kneels next to the shorter lad, firstly just putting the umbrella over his head, admiring his face. He notices blue eyes, hardly looking at him because of the weakness. Bruises were covering his face and his lip was bleeding.

“How about we get you inside, I’ll give you some delicious cupcakes and a cup of hot tea? We need to clean those wounds of yours too.” He sweetly says, giving him a smile.

Louis is a little scared; everyone hurts him, what if he will too? It’s true, since he first saw him, which was month ago Harry never touched him. But there’s that fear in him, the fear of many thigs.

But blue eyed boy can’t answer, he is way too weak. He isn’t even sure if he understands Harry’s words.

He doesn’t say yes, neither he says no.  
Yet the taller boy wasn’t going to leave the tiny body to freeze in the cold rain. 

Gently, careful not to hurt him, he puts his big hands under him, lifting him in his arms. He thinks he’d be heavier but then he realizes the boy probably has around 90 pounds. 

He’s short and deadly skinny. Louis is really underweight, no doubt about it.  
As he clumsily unlocks the door of the warm place he shuts off the alarm and puts the boy on one of chairs. Not many customers will come today, the weather is wet, cold and foggy. Everyone prefers staying under these conditions.

He thinks about how Louis even became homeless. Is there a good reason behind it, or did he just waste money for stupid things?

“I’ll warm up the cupcakes, and make you some tea, until then just rest here. And by the way, my name is Harry. Harry Edward Styles”

He stares at the blue orbs, studying them. He thinks he sees a tear, but isn’t sure.  
As he slowly gets further from him, he goes in the back, putting five of the cupcakes in the microwave. It’s early, 6 am, but he has to bake some stuff, although not many people would come today.

There isn’t a single sound around the bakery, only the microwave and its annoying noise. As the food is warming up, Harry returns back to the boy, noticing he is still in the same spot.  
“Do you think you could tell me your name?” He tries asking him, kneeling next to the chair. He looks up at the tired lad, knowing he just wants to get something to eat and rest for a while.

But Harry is stuck in the bakery for the next five hours. It’s Sunday, that’s why he only works from 6 am to 11 am. Then he can take the hurt boy home and take care of him. Give him what he deserves. Treat him as he's meant to be treated.  
“L-louis” he nervously stutters, hoping he won’t get beaten or hurt in any way. Weirdly, he’s been dying for Harry’s attention, even just a look. 

And now that he is talking to him, when the other boy is helping him, he’s scared, full of fear.

Harry smiles at him, glad he spoke. He notices how Louis isn’t completely comfortable with him and then he remembers to clean his cuts.

Taking the first aid kit out of the cupboard, he takes a tissue and some alcohol. ‘’Louis? This may stink a bit"  
...  
Microwave stops, beeping twice. The blue eyed boy flinches, not knowing what that means, what that is.  
“It’s nothing, just the microwave. It warmed up your food”  
Harry gently explains, not being mad at the older boy at all. 

Louis is starving; he can’t wait to try the ‘cupcakes’. He's sure he heard of it before, through doesn’t know what that is, how it looks even less how it tastes. What if he won’t like it?

But all of these worries are completely senseless; there's no point in it. When the curly lad puts the plate on the table between the two of them, Lou senses a nice smell. His stomach growls and he just wraps his arms around it, hoping it to stop.  
“Go on, try it.” Harry smiles, showing his deep dimples. Blue eyes admire his face, it’s so pretty. Every feature of his is perfect.

But when Louis gets brave enough to take the food in his hand, the little doorbell interrupts. An older woman walks in, Louis never saw her before. Unlike Harry. She comes here every morning, usually to buy some bread.  
The curly boy stands up, ready to serve the lady.  
“Good morning Mrs. Gleason. Like usually?” He sweetly asks as he walks behind the counter. Everyone from Holmes Chapel loves the friendly boy, older people even more. He would help an old man across the road, or carry bag for a lady. Whenever someone needs help, they don’t need to say twice. If he is able, he will help.  
“Good morning to you too Harry. Yes, as always please” she says, speaking slowly. Her glance catches the boy behind the table. She recognizes him from the street, confused why he’s here.  
Louis still doesn't touch his food, he isn’t sure if he can. Is he allowed to be here? Will be Harry in trouble now that lady has seen them?  
“Lou, why don’t you eat?” Harry asks, while putting the bread in the paper bag.  
“Here you go. That will be £0.60” he says, handing her the bag. She gives him £1 and tells him to keep the change.  
Harry say a thank you, puts the money in the cash register and then returns to the smaller boy.

“Don’t be scared to eat. Here look, let me feed you” The curly lad approaches Lou, holding the cupcake in front of his mouth.

There’s a slight chuckle from Louis, and it makes Harry happy just hearing it. As he opens his mouth the other one puts food inside.

Louis slowly chews, getting used to the new flavor. His eyes sparkle, it’s food, it’s a tasty warm food. He loves it.  
Harry continues to feed him and take care of the small boy for the rest of his work day.  
As he thought, there aren’t many customers, only a few.  
Finally, the day ends, it’s time to go home. He’s glad because before he wasn’t able to take a proper care of Louis.  
Harry finds it hard to walk in the rain with a hurt person. But even if it takes three times longer, they finally arrive home.  
The first thing Harry wants to do is to wash Lou. So after he drops his coat, he leads the blue eyed boy into the bathroom.  
Louis is extremely scared, because after all, he’s in stranger’s house. What if Harry beats him, or even worse, rapes him?   
Maybe he should escape, maybe it’s better for him to be alone outside. He doesn’t belong here, in the fancy apartment. Even if it isn’t big and decorated, for Louis it’s like a palace.  
His eyes drop on the door, what if he grabs the knob, opens the door and runs out?  
Would he succeed? Does he even want to do this? But all this time he was waiting for Harry to notice him and now, when he did, his wish is completely opposite. He realized how scary it is to be here, with someone. Will he expect him to get naked to have a ‘bath’? What if Harry wants to touch him in wrong way? What is he supposed to do then? He’s been treated completely wrong all his life, always hurt and in pain. He doesn’t even know what trust is anymore.  
"Lou, come. We need to get you clean. I promise you'll like this." Harry gave the other boy a warm smile, offering him hiss hand. Louis shivers, ‘you will like this’ echoing in his head.

He doesn’t want to know what ‘this’ stands for. All he can do is to hope Harry won’t hurt him. Hope. That thing has been keeping him alive. Always hoping for a miracle. Always hoping to get food. To get a home. Hope to be loved one day. Is he going to lose hope here? Or will all his wishes come true?

Guys of his age have cars, jobs, go to UNI, party, and sleep around with girls. They want big houses, cars, money. All Lou wants is a warm home, meal and someone who will care for him and love him.  
“I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. Take off your clothes please, you need to have a bath. It’s alright; all I want to do is help."

Harry’s hands slide on Louis’ torn up shirt, gently pulling it off. Ignoring the blue eyed boy’s flinch, curly continues to undress him.

Louis feels embarrassed, ashamed, dirty, and worthless. There’s a mixture of negative emotions such as sadness and fear. With a little panic in it. Completely naked there he is, standing in front of another boy.

But Harry doesn’t care; he doesn’t look at this in a sexual way. As Louis -with Harry’s help- slides in the bathtub, hiding himself, he feels better. The warm water is nice and comforting. Now he isn’t as exposed anymore, so that’s better too.  
Harry takes the shampoo bottle, getting some on his hand, which was soon in older boy’s hair, gently massaging it. Louis relaxes, breathing slowly. He wasn’t hurting him, but was he going to?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna add Ziam, but not yet in this chapter.   
> *TRIGGER WARNING / TALKING ABOUT SELF HARM*

The strawberry shampoo smell fills Lou's nose, comforting him. 

"We need to wash your body. Can you do that on your own? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." Harry says, smoothly running his hand over Lou's long hair."  
Could Louis even tell him he can't do it on his own or would Harry get mad? He remembers things from the past, things that are rather painful and sad.

_Flashback_

Little blue eyes didn't dare to blink, but they started to water. The tiny boy received several hits, each one stronger and more painful. When he gave up, and his legs got too weak to keep him up, he fell on the cold, hard garage ground. That was when the kicking began. The man kicked him in his head, in his tummy, in the back -everywhere.   
As Louis thought it couldn't get worse, it did. His father started unzipping his jeans. And that has never happened before. Boy on the ground couldn't help himself; he had no energy left in him, at least not enough to fight back. And that night seemed like infinity.

~Flashback ends~

Harry puts a bit of the shower gel on Louis' hand, waiting for him to wash himself. But the thing is, Louis has never done that. He barely got water to wash himself a little.

He sits there, confused and scared at the same time. 'What a stupid boy' Louis tells himself, not daring to look at the curly lad next to him.  
Harry sees this isn't going to work, so he pours a bit of the shower gel on his own hand, gently rubbing circles in older boy's back. He does it slowly, carefully, not wanting to hurt or scare him. 

His hand slides on boy's shoulder, wiping away the dirt.

"Louis, I promise I would never hurt you. No matter what you do or say, I will never hurt you. Remember that, okay? I mean it. You can say stop, and I'll stop. If you don't like me washing you, I'll stop. Would you like that?"

Boy in the bathtub shakes his head as no, trying to do the right thing, trying not to make Harry mad.   
Soon enough, they finish and Louis is wearing Harry's clothes, which are a bit big, but comfortable and cozy. 

Curly head is preparing bed for the other lad, knowing it's early but he's probably tired.   
While Louis is in living room, sitting on the sofa, straightly, not daring to move from the spot he was seated to. Harry turned up TV, and told him to sit down so he obeyed. 

"Lou, come. The bed is ready, you can rest now. I bet you are terribly tired. And hungry, are you? I'll make you a real meal and bring it to bed. You can sleep and I'll wake you up when the food is ready." 

The poor boy nods, crossing his arms on his chest while shivering. He's cold, and it's damn cold outside too. He's realizing Harry won't hurt him, but it is hard trusting people. Everything could be just a big trap. While he would fall asleep Harry could rape him, he could sell him, he could make him his slave, torture him, make him a prostitute. After all, he is just a weak tiny boy and he’s completely harmless.

Curly boy leads him into the room, showing him a king sized bed, with a few pillows and many blankets. It looks so comfortable and Lou can't resist it. Minute after he lies down, he’s in deep, deep sleep, leaving other boy to cover him up and wrap him in blankets. 

But then there are three knocks on the door, making Harry jump in surprise. Maybe it's his mom, or one of his friends. Running up to the door, he sees Zayn in front of them. 

"Oh hi Zayn. Come on in"

The Pakistani boy gave Harry a smile, but he couldn't fool his friend. There is something going on, something has happened, because that smile was fake, terribly fake.  
Even if Zayn doesn't want to be nosy, he sees someone in the bed through the open bedroom door. The boy looks really familiar, but he can't tell where he has seen him before.

"Don't mind him, I'll explain it later. I'm going to boil some water for the tea, you just suit yourself in the living room, and I think the TV is turned on."

Harry nicely welcomes him, worried about his best friend. Zayn had issues in the past, his came out to his family hasn't ended well. His own father forbade him to step in the house. And of course, it left certain consequences on Zayn. He loved them so much and he still does.

When the tea was ready, Harry takes out three cups; each one has a different face on it. He thinks it's cute and he likes them a lot.  
He's anxious about Zayn, curious to know what happened to his friend. He pours tea in the cups, carrying two of them in the living room. 

"I'm going to check on Louis, he might want some tea. Then we can talk, okay?"

Zayn nods, patiently waiting on the sofa. He's glad he has a friend like this, always there for him.   
The curly boy takes the one cup that is left in the kitchen and brings it to the sleeping boy.

"Hey...Lou? I brought you some tea. Be careful, it's hot."

He sits on the bed next to the older boy, holding the cup in his hands. Louis slowly wakes up, his nap only lasting ten minutes.   
He mumbles something, his body falling back on the mattress. It makes Harry laugh, the sleepy boy really being just adorable.

"C'mon Lou, it's warm. It won't be later."   
But the boy doesn’t hear anymore, already back in deep sleep. Harry fixes the blankets, and then leaves the tea on the cupboard.

He then returns in the living room, to listen to his friend's problem.  
Zayn looks at him, his eyes filled with fear and sadness. Nothing new, nothing that Harry hasn't seen before.

"So, what has been bothering you?" He asks, looking at his hurt friend. He hopes it's nothing too serious.

"I don't...Harry I....I've been doing something....And I can't stop. I tried. I really did. I'm so sorry...."

Sudden sob escapes his lips, as tears start to run down his pale cheeks. He hides his crying face in his hands, not wanting to face Harry. His body shakes uncontrollably, his hands the most. It scares Harry, it really does. Jumping to the opposite side of the sofa, he wraps his hands around his friend.

"Zayn, calm down. What the hell are you talking about? Did you do drugs?"  
But Zayn shakes his head, crying more. It makes Harry sad seeing his friend hurt like this, while not even knowing the reason of it.

Zayn's trembling, his heart beating loudly. His mind is racing with thoughts, not giving him the ability to think straight. For a second he thinks about not telling Harry about it. But then again, he knows it's a bit late now and it's for the best.

His hands start to shake badly, as he could feel the fear in his bones.

He lifts his face, letting Harry see his now puffy and red eyes. There's so much pain behind them, so much emotions.   
Hot tears run down his cheeks as he opens his mouth to speak. But what is he even supposed to say? What if Harry won't want to be his friend anymore?

'What a worthless failure you are. No one wants you around them. Harry just feels sorry for you; he doesn't care for your mental problems. You deserve everything you did to yourself. You may as well kill yourself'

The voice in Zayn's head speaks, making him even weaker. Harry knows something is happening and wants Zayn to tell him about it immediately. 

"Zayn please, can you tell me what's wrong? I'll stay by your side, not matter what. Even if you just killed someone"

Zayn forces out a chuckle because he's not in the mood for jokes. He knows Harry is just trying to cheer him up, but it's not working.

"You'll hate me. I'm sorry. So so sorry.''  
Zayn whispers, while grabbing the sleeve of his hoodie. He starts pulling it up, his fingers shaking.   
When both sleeves are up, Harry holds his breath, trying not to gasp. He knows it would be just rude to do that. 

"Zayn I…I’m sorry" Harry whispers, pulling his friend Zayn back in a tight hug. Words just aren't needed, because acts speak for themselves.  
_____________

"Seriously Harry, I'm fine. I don't want to bother."  
The black haired boy says, rejecting friend's offer. But Harry is not giving up, he's worried about Zayn. He'll make him stay the night. 

"Zayn, you're staying here. No buts. My room is empty, I'll stay with Louis. And tomorrow we're going to see a professional. Okay?"

Without any words Zayn nods and goes in the bathroom to get ready. Now Harry is already in his boxers to go to sleep, and his teeth are washed. He joins the sleeping boy in the guest room, making himself a bed on the floor. Lou is scared enough of everything that moves, so he doesn't need Harry to creep him out with sleeping half naked in the same bed as him. And after all it would be weird, sleeping with a stranger.  
This day was interesting for Harry, happy and sad at the same time.

In the middle of the night, Louis wakes up, hearing sniffling sounds. Is someone crying? He slowly and carefully gets up. He probably isn't allowed to do that, but he wants to help if someone is sad, possibly hurt. 

He doesn't find the switch so he tries to find the door in the dark. But what he doesn't expect is someone sleeping on the floor. It scares shit out of him as he trips over the body and falls. He tries not to cry, because when he started crying in front of his father, he got hurt even more. 

"Louis?"   
Harry sleepily mumbles in his low voice, making the other boy tremble. He's in trouble isn't he?

Harry gets up as he gets no other response than quiet sobs. Lou starts crying anyway, not being able to hold it in.  
The curly lad turns the light on, glancing at the clock. It's 2 am, what was Louis doing? He wasn't trying to escape, right?

"Come here. Don't cry. Have you hurt yourself?" 

But Louis shakes his head, and lets the younger boy pick him up in his lap. His arms make him feel safe when they hold him so tightly, yet gently. The sweet cologne comforts him as he takes deep breaths. It doesn't take long before the two boys cuddle on the bed, and Louis isn't crying anymore. But Zayn is. So he gets up again, leaving Harry confused as he leaves the room. The blue eyed boy goes in the room next to the guest one and sees Zayn lying on the bed, silently crying. 

"No cry"   
he says quietly, getting other boy's attention. 

He approaches him, sitting down on the bed. Louis thinks how to comfort him, but just then he sees boy's arms, as Zayn's wearing short sleeves. It remembers him of his mum, when once he saw her in bathroom, dragging the sharp razor over her skin. He cried and cried, not understanding what's happening; he was a little boy after all. The only thing he knew was that there was blood and his mother was hurt. Nothing else. The tears on his mother’s face were dripping on the floor as he watched the painful things. 

She told him that some people are angels that want to go back home and she was one of them. And then she tucked the little boy in his bed, kissing him goodnight, saying goodbye. And somehow he could feel it was the last goodbye.

"You angel. You hurt yourself. But you no leave, Harry love you. Promise you stay? I help. Harry help"

And Zayn smiles at him through all the tears, amazed by this stranger. The boy's words were so simple yet so deep and full of worry.   
He lifts up his pinky, blue eyes staring at him.

"Pinky promise I'll stay here. Okay?" 

And then, Louis eyes shine in happiness, and his smile was so big, he was so happy. He was like a boy getting candy, like he just did something exciting. Lou touched Zayn's pinky with his own one, and then he stood up.

"You no cry and you sleep. You okay. No hurt yourself" 

and then, he waves and leaves the room, slowly closing the door behind him. And in the other room, Harry’s still awake, waiting for the new found boy to return. He realizes how cuddly Lou is and he wants more cuddles. Even as weird as it is, cuddling with a stranger is not so bad, especially if the stranger is adorable and tiny like Louis is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1.English isn't my first language so I apologize for everything  
> 2\. This chapter is shitty  
> 3.I'll explain everything through the story, no need to ask...:) it's gonna be a bit longer than i expected...Im not sure how long , but a few chapters more for sure...  
> 4\. I spend hours on writing and comments really mean so much. I love seeing that (1) on inbox...Gives me butterflies ;)  
> I LOVE YOU ALL:D  
> -Teia

Harry is waiting for Zayn, outside the therapy room. He really wanted to come inside with his friend, but the nurse said it’s better for him to be alone with the therapist. And he did try to convince her otherwise, but there was no use in it. So he promised to Zayn, that when he finishes, he’ll be right there in the waiting room.   
Yesterday morning Harry called his friend Niall, hoping he’d get a good advice on how to help Zayn. And he got much more than that. Niall’s friend is one of the best therapists and he had no problem with making an appointment.   
Zayn wasn’t exactly happy with it, but he gave it a go. Harry wasn’t going to force him into anything, so he’s free to quit whenever he wants.

While waiting, Harry keeps thinking about Louis, who is home alone. Harry and Zayn got up before seven, and the tiny boy was still adorably curled in a ball, wrapped in two blankets. The two of them just couldn’t wake him up. Before they left, Harry made sure to set Lou some cereal and a glass full of orange juice, hoping he’ll notice and eat it.

It’s 9:04 when Zayn comes out of the room, idiotic smile on his face. It certainly isn’t the same expression that he had when he went inside of that room. His eyes are shining in pure happiness, positivity all around him.  
But Harry isn’t complaining. His friend is feeling better and that’s all that matters. The fake smile is replaced with the real one, and that’s already a progress. 

He smiles at his friend, standing up from the uncomfortable hospital chair. “I see we’ll be coming back, won’t we?” Harry questions, a smirk forming on his pink lips. Zayn only nods in the response, he doesn’t have time for the teasing, his mind is too busy. He’s lost in another world, thinking of the adorable dark eyes and that deep voice. 

Through the therapy, Liam-the therapist- got to know Zayn a bit, and Zayn realized this is way better than he imagined. He pictured a white room, a sofa and an old guy telling him how wrong cutting his.

But hell he was wrong. Liam was really sweet, same age as Zayn himself. The walls of the room were nice light red color with matching furniture. And the last thing he thought was that he was going to like his therapist this much. He wanted to see him again, because after all he did make him feel much better.  
They didn’t talk about Zayn cutting or about his suicidal thoughts. Because when he talked with Liam, every negative thought escaped his mind.

Maybe what he needs isn’t someone watching his every move, but just someone who will understand, someone who will know how to help and someone who’ll take her of him. And not that Harry isn’t doing okay, he’s perfectly fine. He cares about Zayn, he’s worried, and he’s willing to do anything to help. But the thing is, he doesn’t know where to start, what or how to do anything about it. And Liam knows exactly how.

Liam on the other side is mad, really mad at himself. He shouldn’t get this personal with his patient, but it just felt so right even if it was wrong. He just couldn’t believe that someone like Zayn was so broken. It’s not fair; he’s just so perfect and harmless. He wants to kiss the pretty lips of his, he wants to hold him, tell him that everything is alright. He wants to protect him from everything.

He really shouldn’t be having this thoughts, he should focus on professionally helping his patient. It made him realize, that this may be one of the hardest cases to solve. Not because of Zayn’s depression, he had worse. But because he feels something and he isn’t quite sure what that something is, yet he just can’t ignore the unfamiliar feeling.  
.  
And even now, that Liam isn’t present anymore, Zayn still can’t stop smiling and replaying all moments that happened an hour ago.  
When Harry drops him at his flat, he still doesn’t know what happened, but he’s patient, he knows it won’t last long before he phones and spills every detail so he just waves goodbye and drives away, curious to see what Louis is doing, if he’s okay.  
5 minutes or so after dropping Zayn off, he’s already inside his own flat, the familiar scent greeting him. Immediately he searches for Louis, finding him exactly where he’s left him. 

The tiny boy is sitting on the bed, looking at the food. His eyes are full of sadness, desperately craving the food which he probably didn’t have much in the past weeks. It’s obvious he was starving. And it makes Harry sad, knowing the boy isn’t trusting him. He didn’t expect him to, it’s way too fast, but he still hoped. It’s not wrong to hope, right?

He sighs, approaching Louis and sitting down next to him.   
“It’s for you, you know? Don’t be afraid to eat. No one is going to hurt you.”  
He holds the bowl of cereal in front of the smaller boy, trying to make him eat. But Louis only looks at it, tears in his eyes. He’s so scared; he’s scared of the punishment that might come. His father always hurt him, no matter what he’s done. If he ate he got hit, if he left the food he got hit. There was no way of escaping it.  
It was only an excuse for his father but the little boy couldn’t know that. He’s done something wrong and he has to face the consequences, right? That’s just how his life has always been.

And Harry is able to hear other boy’s stomach growling and a guilty feeling fills him.  
“Lou. Don’t you like cereal? I’ll make you something else. It’s okay. I told you I won’t hurt you. Okay?”   
Louis only nods, a single tear escaping his eye. He quickly wipes it away, hoping not to get Harry mad. And it’s not even the cereal that he doesn’t like. He eats everything, because on street you don’t get any choices. It’s just the sick feeling he has, like he’s hungry yet like he’s going to throw up. And if he throws up, the beating will only be worse, or so it used to be.

 

The curly lad stands up, thinking of a meal he could do quickly. He doesn’t notice that something is wrong with Lou. Not that anyone could blame him, Louis got really good at hiding things.  
He thinks ordering pizza would do, but it’s still a bit early for a meal like that. He jogs into the kitchen, walking over to the fridge. He sees some eggs, so he decides to bake two of them, none for himself, since he isn’t really hungry.  
As the meal is prepared, he puts a piece of bread next to it, and carries the plate to Louis. The boy is cuddled on the bed, silently crying. The hot tears fall on the white pillow, soaking it. Now Harry does notice something, and he immediately worries about the boy in the bed; he looks terribly pale and weak. Slowly, he puts his big hand on the boy’s sweaty forehead, realizing how hot he is.   
“You got sick Lou. I’ve got you, don’t worry. It’s okay, we’re just going to give you a cold bath and some medicine and you’ll be okay. I promise. I’m right here, you’re safe.” 

Harry quietly tells, trying his best to comfort him.  
He boy remembers all the things his mother used to do when he got ill. It was time to use the skills, and help someone. Because Lou needs someone who will take care of him, someone who will love him. And Harry is determined to give him all of that and much more.  
The tiny boy is so skinny, so light that the green eyed boy has no problems with carrying him to the bathroom.

He sets him down on corner of the bathtub, carefully and gently. He doesn’t need to scare him with being rough and careless. That’s not what Harry is like anyway.  
Louis remembers all the things his mental father did to him, especially those in the bathroom. Brad, so called father of Louis, filled the bath with boiling hot water, forcing Louis inside of it. His skin burnt, it felt like he was thrown on fire. He was only 11 and he was tiny as a 7 year old boy. There was no chance he could defense himself, not against his father who had over 200 pounds and was rather muscular.

And sitting there, watching other boy preparing cold water for him is quite scary as it brings all the memories back. He tries to shake it off, tries not to think about it. Louis stares at Harry, switching his thoughts to the adorable curls on his head. His hand wants to touch it, the soft, dark hair, but he knows Harry wouldn’t allow him. His father hated if Louis touched him. 

“Okay. Now let’s take off your clothes. I know you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I just want to help. I promise it’s okay, I’m not going to do anything bad. It won’t feel nice, but it’s going to help. I’m not leaving you. I swear. ”

Harry wants to make him feel better, he wants to help. When he was younger he hated cold baths, but they are the fastest way to lower the temperature a bit.  
He waits for other boy to undress, patiently, no rush needed. He understands it’s hard, even though he doesn’t exactly know what Louis’ story is. But he’s determined to find out every detail about the adorable boy’s past.

It takes time, but eventually Lou manages to take off his clothes. It’s not simple for him, not when someone is right there. Harry then tightly holds the other boy’s hands and helps him get inside the cold water.  
And a second or two after he’s inside, he can’t breathe. He starts gasping for air, tears picking in his eyes. “Out, please” he whispers, absolutely hating the cold water on his skin. It makes it hard to breathe, and panic fills him.

And Harry sees it, and he didn’t thought it would be that bad. Not wanting to harm the blue eyed boy, he quickly reacts, his arms sliding under the tiny boy. He puts him back on the edge of the bathtub and gently hugs him. Ignoring the fact that he is getting wet, he rubs small circles on Lou’s back, comforting him.  
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Everything is okay.”

Harry gently sooths in his ear, holding the older boy. Louis is trembling, his eyes red from crying because he’s scared and his little tummy hurts.   
The younger boy realizes this won’t help much, seeing it only scares Louis.  
There had to be something in the past, something that changed him so much. Someone had to hurt him, mistreat him. But who could possibly want to harm him? Harry could never understand. And neither Louis could.

He doesn’t know why he deserved all of the beatings his step-father gave him. All the hurtful words his mother spoke to him. He doesn’t understand why his mother and step-father slept in the huge house enjoyed the big meals and wore brand new clothes. Because he, he never got any of that. Instead, he slept on the cold ground of the small basement, ate if his mother was in a good mood-which didn’t happen often and all he got were leftovers.  
He had a T-shirt and some old worn out sweats, and that was pretty much his whole wardrobe. They never gave him love, never even gave him the ability to go to school, like any other normal kids.

And it was all because he was born with developmental disability. A simple disease that cost him family’s love.   
He wasn’t insane; he just acted differently, a bit childish. It was hard learning and understanding. All he needed was a bit more attention and care than a normal child would. But he didn’t get any attention other than being forced into sexual things and receiving beatings. Honestly, he’d be much better without that kind of attention  
His mother gave birth at home, not even taking care of his papers. So right now, he’s not a legal citizen, no one legal knows he exists. Just like his parents wanted. They were rich, and well known, they didn’t want a failure like that to embarrass their family.  
Long story short, they didn’t want Louis to exist.

**Author's Note:**

> If someone has idea for another chapter please comment down bellow? Im only thinking about one or two chapters more, but I'm not sure what to write. Comments would be nice and kudos too<3


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